Found Footage Festival at Arlington Cineman 'N' Drafthouse Saturday, November 7

The continued existence of the Found Footage Festival relies on two factors: First, the ’80s and early ’90s were the height of allegedly “professional” video production. Second, much of that shit is still collecting dust on VHS or Beta somewhere. Exercise tapes, cable-access shows, inept how-tos, horrible cartoons, you name it—fest hosts Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher collect it the way your nerd roommate piles up vinyl records. Some of this year’s show is so painfully awesome that it’s already gone viral, including a montage from a 1987 video-dating reel. There’s also a nugget with strong D.C. flavor: Home-movie clips from a 1985 metal festival in Potomac, Md., that were passed along via Jeff Krulik, the guy who did Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Krulik will be on hand to introduce the footage, which features the now-defunct Silver Spring band Asylum and a piece of stolen CBS News gear. THE FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE AT 7:15 P.M. AT THE ARLINGTON CINEMA ‘N’ DRAFTHOUSE, 2903 COLUMBIA PIKE, ARLINGTON. $10. (703) 486-2345. —Joe Warminsky